TPTA REACH100 CAMPAIGN

What is REACH 100?
The Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) will make history this October when we achieve 100% Student Membership. Yes, you heard it right, we want every student in all 11 PT and 19 PTA programs in our State to be proud members of APTA and TPTA by October 20, 2010. The name of this innovative campaign is “REACH 100.”

Why 100%?
Why 100% you ask? A State as big as Texas needs a big Student Membership Goal.  Sure, we could have set a goal of 50%, or 75%, or 90%, but that’s not the Texas way. We’ve decided that it’s time for Texas PT and PTA students to set an example for the rest of the country. There’s another reason. Had we gone with for example a 90% statewide goal, every class would have had several students who would have put themselves in that 10% that apparently doesn’t need to join. With setting the goal at 100%, we are sending a clear message to EVERY Texas PT and PTA student: WE NEED EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU TO JOIN.

Who is coordinating Reach 100?
The REACH 100 campaign is coordinated by:

• TPTA’s membership co-chairs Karina Kunder and Jerre van den Bent. They can be reached at membership@tpta.org, email them any time with ideas and comments about this campaign!
• TPTA’s student SIG (http://www.tpta.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=27), especially the TSPTA historian, Kelsey Tucker, who is gathering contact info for student leaders at all of the programs throughout the State. (If you are a class president, please email her TODAY at kdtucker@utmb.edu)
• A statewide task force of Faculty members who are currently in talks with every PT and PTA program in the State, gathering contact info, sharing membership recruitment materials, and setting goals with faculty and student leaders for due dates.
• Many volunteers across the State, including district chair, membership development liaisons and of course, student leaders!!

How is the campaign going so far?
As of March 2010, 7 of 30 programs Statewide have reported that they have reached the goal of 100% membership, they are:

• Hardin Simmons DPT program (Abilene)
• Laredo Community College (Laredo)
• South Texas PTA program  (McAllen)
• Western Technical College PTA program (El Paso)
• Del Mar College (Corpus Christi)
• El Paso Community College (El Paso)
• The University of Texas at El Paso (El Paso)
• Tarrant Community College PTA Program (Hurst)

We have established contact with most, but not all programs in the State.

Why should I join APTA and TPTA as a student?
Well, that’s simple, if you’re in school to join the awesome profession of Physical Therapy, you gotta start supporting your future profession now. It’s the right thing to do. Student membership gives you access to lots of benefits, including access to research articles on APTA.org, discounted pricing on APTA and TPTA products and conferences, and a community of passionate professionals for networking and fellowship. We are currently working on materials that will give you a roadmap to taking full advantage of your membership.

Enough already, what should I do TODAY?
Go to www.APTA.org and click on JOIN at the top of the page. It’s quick, convenient, and it’s a great $90 investment in your future. If you’re a APTA/TPTA member, a class president or APTA/TPTA liaison and want to work on achieving 100% membership for your class, please make yourself known to us and we will assist you in any way we can.

The State of Texas has a long and proud history of producing leaders in the world of physical therapy. We hope that you will get on board with REACH 100 as we will make APTA and TPTA history that will benefit our profession for many years to come.